Sept. 26, 2005

LAS VEGAS - UNLV women's golf got off to a strong start in the Land of Enchantment on Monday, finishing tied for second at one-over par (293) in the first round of the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Aluquerque, N.M.

The 14th-ranked Rebels were led by a pair of freshmen, Grace Woo and Da Sol Chung, who both finished under par in their first collegiate tournament.

Ohio State sits atop the leaderboard and is the only team below par at the tournament after the 23rd-ranked Buckeyes shot a team score of 287 to finish at five under par. No. 8 USC and UNLV are tied for second while Texas A&M (+2, 294) and No. 3 Pepperdine (+4, 296) round out the top five. Jennifer Cassidy of Ohio State and Eileen Vargas of Pepperdine share the lead after the opening round as both posted a four-under par 69.

Woo sits just a stroke behind, carding 70 in the opening 18 holes to join a group of four players tied for third. Chung meanwhile is three strokes out of first place after shooting a 71 (-1). Woo rolled in three birdies through the opening nine before she carded her first bogey of her collegiate career and wrapped up her first round with four birdies, a bogey and 13 pars. Chung also made an impressive debut, sinking five birdies to go along with 11 pars, a bogey and a double bogey.

Elena Kurokawa added a two over 75, Seema Sadekar fired a three over 76 and Allison Chell shot a nine over 82 to wrap up the scoring for the Rebels on the day. UNLV senior Young Pak also competed as an individual at the tournament and carded a five over 78. Since she was playing as an individual, Pak's score did not count toward UNLV's team score.

UNLV continues play at the 54-hole tournament Tuesday morning with teams teeing off at 7:00 a.m. (PDT).

Fans can get full results and follow the tournament live by clicking here.